If you are a regular reader of this newspaper, you would probably know that we support the principle of strong coalition governments, formed on the basis of a shared dedication to build an effective public administration.
Since 2016, local government results have shown us that coalition governments will likely be our political reality for some time.
In fact, some predict that the recent outcome of the municipal elections, where more municipalities did not have an outright winner, indicates what is to come for national government as early as 2024.
The last five years were arguably the most unstable for major metros across the land with power often changing hands for political expediency.
The election of mayors in Gauteng and other parts of the country this week has all the hallmarks of what could be even more precarious governance arrangements going forward.
The biggest winner was the DA, which at the time of writing, had taken the mayoral chains in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni through the support of Action SA and the EFF.
The two parties had, until the last minute, appeared to be firmly on the opposite side of the DA’s numbers equation.
Worth noting is that none of the parties agreed to form a coalition government.
Their support for DA mayorships was only on the basis of their collective rejection for the ANC – at the moment of voting – rather than an agreement on fundamental matters of governance.
This means should any of these political variables change this flimsy pact will likely fall apart, ushering in another chapter of turbulence, which will further compromise systems of governance.
Second, we maintain that their inability to form co-governing agreements not only demonstrates an egotistical approach to negotiations, it also conveniently allows those who are not in office to influence municipal decisions through their ad-hoc voting patterns without ever being held accountable for those decisions.
For residents this should be a concern as it entrenches a practice where the process of decision making is influenced by the need to sustain power rather than to actually deliver services for the sustainable development of our communities.
In reality there are no winners in this arrangement.
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